Lion's Roar (Clexa)

8. Playing With Fire

They were back on the road again, this time with Clarke in the driver's seat. The GPS screen informed them that they were only an hour out from Arkadia. Lexa had already called Kane to tell him they'd be late, even if she hadn't been able to explain why.

"This is nice, you know, despite everything. I honestly haven't been this relaxed in years." Lexa admitted, placing a careful hand on Clarke's thigh as she drove, sending a brief shiver up the blonde's spine.

"Seriously? I nearly got you killed!" argued Clarke.

"Hey, it's not like it hasn't happened before. In a job like mine, you nearly get killed every day. Besides, it's only dumb luck I didn't die fifteen years ago with my parents." Lexa's voice started to crack. "I'm already living on borrowed time."

"Shit," said Clarke, hitting her head on the steering wheel before returning her eyes to the road ahead. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. It's my own fault. We were all supposed to be going downtown together, have lunch by the water and ride the ferry. God, three year old me loved boats. But the train was crowded, and somehow I didn't manage to get off at the right stop when Mum and Dad did. I stayed on, and I was four blocks away when the first plane hit."

"Fuck. Planes?" Clarke went cold. "The World Trade Centre?"

Lexa nodded solemnly.

"Do you believe it all?" she asked, staring out the window as Clarke drove on. A sign flashed by welcoming them to Minnesota. They'd crossed the border.

"Believe all what?" Clarke said. "I'm not sure exactly what you mean."

"September 11. That it really was terrorists."

Clarke sighed, unsure of what would be the best thing to say. Her response to this could well be the make or break in her relationship with Lexa. The truth had hurt Clarke so may times before... but it was also the truth that had led her here. It was the truth that had brought them together. She wasn't going to start lying now. "No. Do you?"

"Not really," the sword-swallower admitted, eyes still directed distractedly at the outside world. The pasture to their right was filled with large black cattle. "I mean I did at the time, but as I got older I read deeper into the conspiracies. And honestly a lot of those stories make more sense than the official one."

Clarke said nothing, but gave a thoughtful nod.

"They're right," she broke the silence after a few seconds. "The conspiracies."

Lexa looked confused. "How do you-"

"Like Kelsea said, my dad worked at the Pentagon. He knew. Saw the whole thing played out in the office. Decided it wasn't right, was all set to expose the truth, and they took him away. Only found out the other day that it was Mum snitched on him because she was scared of another war. Guess she thought it was better he die than all of us."

"Wow," said Lexa, sobered. "I'm so sorry."

***

When they finally arrived the tents had already been pitched, and the layout of the camp was largely the same as it had been in Clarke's hometown. She parked Lexa's car in the space that had been left for it and the two of them made their way over to Kane's trailer to let him know they'd arrived. Clarke knocked twice on the door and they waited. There was no response. Kane didn't appear to be inside.

"Maybe he's in the big top?" Clarke suggested.

"Probably, yeah," said Lexa. "Everyone'll be rehearsing most likely. There's a show in two days."

"Two days?" said Clarke. "Wow, I didn't realise just how fast-paced this lifestyle really was."

"Don't worry, you get used to it eventually," Lexa laughed as they walked hand in hand across the field toward the big stripy tent that housed the ring itself.